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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bore · rush · drill · band · field · perch · mine · rash

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. drill — the tool
  4. rash — a series
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. perch — the fish
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. bore — to drill
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. band — a ring
  13. field — for sport
  14. rash — hasty
  15. bore — to tire
  16. drill — army training
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. field — farmland
  19. drill — a practice
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. rush — hurry
  22. band — a music group
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. field — a subject

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com